Paper optical illusion toy



July 25, 195o f c. C. Loup 2,516,367

PAPER oPTIcAL ILLu-lQN. 'roy Fiied Dc. 8. 1949l q @om yowfey fisrequired.

Patented July 25, 1950 U Nflrso sTAff-TaEsf lvPairs,NT toFsulla .L I.,2516367.. r-.iriaaoprrcsp mansion-TOY ,Carey-Claude-Cloud, Morgantown,11nd. Application December s, 1949,3seria1j-n. minis My inventionrelates to an 'optical illusion-"toy which is made entirely of paper. yIt isamongthe v'objects of my invention 'to'provide -atoy-'which can bemade in an extremely economical manner vthrough the use ofl no materialother thanpaper. -and ink. There are many commercial products tointrigue the child into buying the productin order to obtain thenovelty. y Y l l ADue to the high cost of manufacturing, any'toy ornovelty which is 'at all complicated'lor whichi requires any amount ofass-znlblyv workv in its'con- `struction, 'cannot be used'forthispurpose.

Itis among the objections offmy inventionto provide a toy or noveltywhich is particularly 'deprinted and die cut from one largesheet andthen separated. No metal, plastic orassembly work It isa furtherobject'of my invention-"to provide such a paper toyor `novelty which'isunusual and which will amuse,and,fa.scin`ate a child or an adult. Thisis accomplished by providing a toy which comprises a piece of lpaper-with an imager? on each side. Through the use of the paper itself, thechildV can cause-the paper'to be rotated rapidly, so that both sides ofthe 'paperfpass-before his eyes in rapidsuccession',

It is well known that the human eye retains -an-i' Yimage for a periodbeyond v tlitime when the object is actually present before the eye.v.lor-.that reason, the effect of the rapid rotation of my toy is tocause theimages 'onthe two sides of the vpaper to appear tobesullerimposed upon` eachs; other. Using this principlafthere isanendless' "extremely important'in'the saleofv theproductsqo 1 -becauseit is hiddeninside' 'the'v package "and serves andi change WithoutdevReferringfto 'theldrawings -Fig. .l is a front `view 'of one-side ofmy paper opticalftoy'blank; Eig2 'is affront view of the Voppositesideof myblank; Fig. 3 is'afront view f-myblankshowingvthe cornersremoved;.11ig.`:4.is'=a front kview of my "blanki'showingfthe endfportionsV twistedto form strings; .Fig. 5 is :a top' plan View .of myblank with'itheend portions twisted toform' strings and Fig 6 is afrontView'. of my` toy "inzuse,` vshowing 4the'positioning'of thehandsfan'dithe optical-"llilusion -effect which is achieved 1 through'opera- 'ft'ion of my toy.

A preferred embodiment offmyf nventioncom- 'i'prises .a substantially"at'v rectangular blank I0, V which lisvfpreferably formed :of `a`tough, .longfbered paper stock'ffor strength. 'Other/type :of

paper, cardboard 'or other material may be used.

signed for this type of use.' AMyA toy is constructedf: fg'fBlank "H15is 'provided'at each-of. its four Vcorners Ventirely of paper orcardboard, which isprin'ted and die cut. A large number of 'them can bewith right angle die Cuts II,y I2, I`3-and' I4. lvlEach ofr these cutsisesulastantiallysquareI -in shapefand is roundedat itsright'an'gleturn.

lThe cutting rules whichfmake 'the four icorner cuts tI I-,if-I'2, I3:and "I4 are nioked to'makea/dull 'spot so that the-:corners `are notcutentirely-Yfree from" the 'blank I0.

"The 'portions .of blank I0 which vare outlined .by :'II, I2, I=3^and:I4 comprise Aalmost all 'offdzheends i'of hlankflil, leaving'ronly-narrowvend portionsIS and I6 vof theblank-between them.

1- 'A' pair of' straight line cuts` i1 `and lfnextendslon-.fguresuperimposed .on 2a black vbackgroundiis -best for 'obtaining thedesired optical effect. Pictures fl and r!) afre'so positionedAandzdesigned wstartling effect when-superimposed.

".:fAmong thepi-ctureswhich -illustratethis effect are :those .of a'cowboy@ and horse, afdog and efeat,

some or l0 times.

anche? the rectangular blank In, which is die cut and u printed in themanner described above. Following the rst instruction, the child breaksoff the four corner pieces. This is accomplished by tearing them alongthe lines of cuts ll, l2, 'I3 and I4. When this has been done, thereremains of the blank l 0 only the picture portion and the two narrow endpieces I5 and I6, Whichiextend outwardly from blank I'Q at each endthereof.

Following the next instruction, the child twists both end portions l5and I6 into strings. This may be accomplished by merely twisting themCuts Il and I8 serve to separate the end portions I5 and I6 into twomembers, which may be twisted around each other in order to simulate astring.

Following the third instruction, the child then 'holds the stringsbetween the thumb and index iinger of each hand and twirls the blank I0rapid.

ly. The correct manner of holding and twirling my toy is illustrated inthe fourth instruction. When my toy is held before the eyes and operatedin this manner, pictures I9 and 20 appear to be superimposed on eachother.

In making my toy, it should be understood that a plurality of myrectangular-'blanks i0 may be printed and die out from a single sheet ofpaper or similar material. This may be accomplished by using formedcutting rules to separate.,4

them from each other.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1. An optical illusion toycomprising a, substantially flat rectangular paper blank, said blankhaving four corner die cuts, each of said, corner cuts having alongitudinal portion and a trans-verse portion to outline asubstantially square corner of said blank, said blank having a pair ofintegral end portions positioned between the longitudinal portions ofsaid corner cuts, a pair of straight line cuts bisecting said endportions, said blank having a pair of pictures imprinted on the oppositesides thereof,

said blank having instructions for operation of said toy imprinted inthe four corners outlined by said corner cuts, said corner cuts adaptedto permit the removal of the four corners from said blank to leave saidend portions projecting therefrom, said end portions adapted to betwisted to form strings, said straightl line cuts adapted to facilitatethe formation of said end portions into strings, said strings adapted tobe held between the thumb and index finger of each hand, said stringswhen twirled between Said thumbs and 4 index fingers adapted to causesaid blank to be rotated rapidly so as to cause said pictures on theopposite sides of said blank to appear to be superimposed on each otherto form a single optical impression.

2. An optical illusion toy comprising a substantially dat blank formedof paper, said blank having four corner cuts, each of said corner cutshaving a longitudinal portion and a transverse portion to outline acorner of said blank, said blank having a pair of integral end portionspositioned between the longitudinal portions of said corner cuts, a pairof straight line cuts extending longitudinally along said end portions,said blank having a pair of pictures on opposite sides thereof, s-aidcorner cuts adapted to permit the removal of the corners from said blankto leave said end portions projecting therefrom, said straight line cutsadapted to facilitate the twisting of said end portions to form strings,said strings adapted to be held between the thumb and index ringer ofeach hand, said strings when twirled between said thumbs and indexfingers adapted to cause said blank to be rotated rapidly so as to causesaid pictures on the opposite sides of said blank to appear to besuperimposed on each other to form a single optical impression.

3. An optical illusion toy comprising a substantially flat blank formedof paper, said blank having four corner cuts, each of said corner cutshaving a longitudinal portion and a transverse portion to outline acorner of said blank, said blank having a pair of integral end portionspositioned between the longitudinal portions vof said corner cuts, saidblank having a pair of pictures on opposite sides thereof,said cornercutsadapted to permit the removal of the corners from said blank toleave said end portions projecting therefrom, said end portions adaptedto be twisted to form strings, said strings adapted to be heldbetweenthe thumb and index nger of each hand, said strings when twirledbetween said thumbs and index fingers adapted to cause said blank\,to berotated rapidly so as to cause said picturesbn the opposite sidesl ofsaid blank to appear to be superimposed on each other to form a singleoptical impression.

CAREY CLAUDE CLOUD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

* UNITED .STATES` PATENTS- Number Switzerland Nov. 15, 1929

